special request. the president at the end of the line and what he said afterward. good evening on this sunday night, great to have you with us. we begin with the developing story from washington. those 11th hour talks to avoid the fiscal cliff. this evening here after they came to a halt, the vice president has been called in, now playing a central role. but time is running out. just tonight and tomorrow left. and if no agreement, taxes will go up for all americans. in fact, the average american family would see a tax increase of more than $3,400. as congress convened, even the senate chaplain praying to avoid what the president first called "self-inflicted wounds." let's bring in jon karl. he's been at his post every step of the way. the source has told you the vice president has been called in on this.

>> reporter: that's right. i'm told the vice president is now playing a direct role in these negotiations, trying to get to a deal, a last-minute deal, a key player in the final hours. president obama set off the high-stakes weekend scramble friday night, imploring congressional leaders to take action immediately. >> the american people are not going to have any patience for a politically self-inflicted wound to our economy. >> reporter: with that harry reid and mitch mcconnell launched a last-ditch effort to craft a bipartisan plan to that would at the very least, protect most people from a big tax hike going into effect on new year's day. the senators and their staffs negotiated all day saturday. saturday night republican leader mcconnell made his offer. by this morning, a clear sense of optimism and warnings that failure would be unthinkable. >> there are certainly no breakthroughs yet, but there's a real possibility of a deal.

>> if we are not able to reach an agreement, it will be dire. >> reporter: but the morning's optimism turned into the afternoon's pessimism. the senate opened for business at 1:00 p.m. with the ominous prayer from the chaplain. >> look with favor on our nation and save us from self-inflicted wounds. >> reporter: soon democratic leader reed acknowledged he had not been able to make a counteroffer to republicans. >> it's just that we're apart on some pretty big issues. >> reporter: grfrt -- frustrated with the impasse, republican mcconnell said he called vice president biden, urging him to get involved. >> i'm concerned about the lack urgency here. i want everyone to know i'm willing to get this done, but i need a dance partner. >> reporter: after a roller coaster of a weekend, the bottom line is, there is still no deal. although the white house says the president remains modestly optimistic and harry reid said

they would work through the night. but of course time is almost out. >> jon karl in washington, thank you. there is late word tonight secretary of state hillary clinton has been admitted to a new york hospital. doctors have found a blood clot she sustained after the fall. she's being watched closely for the next 48 hours before deciding to take action. >> the president meanwhile making headlines with tough talk about gun control in his second term in the wake of the shootings in newtown, connecticut. you'll remember the president tearing up as he addressed the nation on the day of the shooting. today the president recalled that day. >> this is something that -- you know, that was the worst day of my presidency. it's not something that i want to see repeated. >> the president going on to say he supports banning assault rifles and high capacity clips, better background checks and he hopes it's accomplished in the first year of his second term. meantime some 400 children

parents and community members from newtown, connecticut, were at the giants/eagles game in new jersey. what a moment it was. children from newtown greeting both teams as they took the field. then their families and their children stood on the sidelines as the national anthem played in the stadium. we loved seeing that. we'll turn now to the deep freeze on its way to a huge stretch of the country. the coldest winter weather this season. it come as so many are still digging out from two snowstorms in a row. a worker clearing the stadium in foxborough. and navigating the snowy roads in pennsylvania. meantime, it's been a deadly night on the road out west, all because of the snow. here's abc meteorologist ginger zee now. >> reporter: on the icy roads of the blue mountains near pendleton, oregon, a tour bus crashed today, killing five people and injuring at least 20. driving was disastrous this weekend after the latest winter storm in the east. there was a 20-car pileup in new hampshire on i-93.

>> there was debris everywhere. you could see it. you had to duck not be hit by a fender or some exploding plastic grills. unbelievable. >> reporter: in wisconsin, i-94 was like a parking lot. dangerous drive too in portland, maine. central ohio folks were traveling far from highway speeds. in lexington, kentucky, crews worked day and night to keep that from happening. in st. louis, that did happen. black ice sent this suv tumbling into an icy river. inside a mother and her three children. >> i can only imagine what she thought with the three kids in the back seat. >> reporter: first responders jumped in and no one was hurt. tonight it's the cold and wind in durham, connecticut. a freezing reminder that this is what winter looks like. >> well, the holidays are supposed to be a little easier than this. ginger zee is with us here the

desk here in new york. you say the cold is going to stay and some places will get colder. >> right. that's just the problem. you may go above freezing during the day, but at night, a lot of places going to see black ice problems on the road still. let me show you how cold. chicago is a place we're focusing in on. been relatively mild. haven't seen a high temperature below 32 for 38 days. -- 308 days. the numbers going up to 22 around new year's day. only for a high. new york city by that time, mid week, below freezing too. then look at one more thing, new year's eve. new year's eve forecast. atlanta 47, look at new york, times square 35. chicago will be around 24. rain and snow only in the northern arkansas, southern missouri area. >> for people in times square, not so bad. >> right. >> okay, thanks. we learned of tense moments from the plane crash in moscow. we learned a fifth person has

died. kirit radia with the pictures this evening. >> reporter: the terrifying moment of impact was captured on a car's dashboard camera. watch as the plane slams into the side of the highway sending debris flying, the plane's tire smashing into the car ahead. miraculously, no one on the highway was killed. the russian-made tupolev 204 was trying to land at moscow's vnukovo airport on saturday when it skidded off the runway and crashed into the side of the highway, splintering into three pieces and bursting into flames. the red wings air flight was arriving from the czech republic without any passengers and just eight crew members onboard. four of them died yesterday. today a fifth crew member died from her injuries. the other three remain hospitalized. near the crash site a makeshift memorial. investigators are combing through the plane's black box recorders trying to find out why the plane crashed. the cause is still unknown, but authorities are reportedly focusing on whether the plane's braking system failed. kirit radia, abc news, moscow.

>> our thanks to kirit tonight. >> and we're learning more about a new kind of terror threat from al qaeda in yemen. the a.p. first reporting a new tape offering tens of thousands of dollars to anyone who kills the u.s. ambassador or an american soldier in their country. it comes after the death of ambassador chris stevens in benghazi. here's abc's muhammad lila tonight. >> reporter: it's a country racked with lawlessness and now a potential new threat. the associated press first reported this video which claims to be from al qaeda's yemen branch announcing a new bounty. three kilograms of gold. roughly $160,000 for the head of the american ambassador in yemen and $23,000 for any american soldier. abc hasn't verified the authenticity of the video. it was posted online separately, claiming to be part of a longer video, one that we have authenticated. if true, the threat comes at a critical time, just four months after al qaeda-linked militants stormed the embassy compound in libya, killing ambassador chris

stevens and three other american personnel. after the attacks, security levels were raised at many american embassies around the world. >> i think the security detail to the ambassador himself is not going to do anything particularly differently. because they had to know that the ambassador was already a person who had to be protected very, very carefully. >> reporter: yemen is in the heart of the middle east, considered by many a breeding ground for militants. and there's no question anti-american sentiment in yemen is running high. in september, an angry mob stormed the u.s. embassy, enraged by the controversial youtube video about the prophet muhammad. >> it's not going to change the reality. this ambassador is one of the many brave americans in the region who is in danger all the time whether there's a bounty on his head or not. muhammad lila, abc news, washington. from india, mourners at a somber vigil in the capital. mourners gathering to remember a young woman who died after being sexually attacked by several men on a bus. she died in a singapore hospital.

her body was returned home today. the incident has sparked anger and rare protests in that country over the treatment of women. police say they'll charge the attackers with murder. back here in new york, and another horrific case. this evening an arrest after a man was pushed in front of an oncoming subway train. the woman in custody facing hate crime charges after telling police she pushed a man to his death because she thought he was a muslim. here's abc's akiko fujita. >> reporter: it was a bizarre ending to a crime that has shocked this city. the woman accused of pushing a man onto the train tracks, screaming and smiling as cameras captured her arrest. this surveillance video led police to erika menendez. investigators say that's her running away from a train station in queens thursday night just moments after she shoved 46-year-old sunando sen off the platform. now she's reportedly admitted to the crime. >> i pushed a muslim off the train tracks because i've hated hindus and muslims since they

put down the twin towers. i have been beating them up since. the victim a hindu immigrant from calcutta, india. his roommates say he was a graphic designer who just opened his own printing company. >> i feel bad because i am broke in my heart because this guy is nice guy and so quiet. >> reporter: his death comes weeks after 58-year-old ki-suck han was killed at another new york station. this video shows the suspect arguing with the victim minutes before he pushed him off the platform. >> you never know who is going to push you onto the tracks or into the street. >> reporter: those concerns led new york mayor michael bloomberg to make this call for calm. >> i don't think you have to sit there and worry every day about getting pushed over the platform. it's such a rare occurrence, no matter how tragic it is, it shouldn't change our lifestyle. >> reporter: regardless, many riders say they'll be staying far away from the edge of the

platform for now. akiko fujita, abc news, new york. we'll turn to a more welcome headline. to a story we reported here last night. a triumphant return for the coach of the indianapolis colts. after a personal battle off the field, today we witnessed his return to it. >> reporter: the head coach of the indianapolis colts, chuck pagano, already facing heavy odds when the season started, fresh off an awful season last year. the fans wondering where have all the good times gone. then that diagnosis. the 52-year-old coach had leukemia, forced to leave the team for treatment. as he fought off the field, the team was fighting on it, turning that record around, making it to the playoffs, while back at the hospital, the coach recalling the moment doctors told him he could go home. >> dr. craig came in and we had a conversation. he said, your counts are starting to come up a little bit. i said, how are they? he said, good enough to go home. and so you're like --

it's like a day early. so, anyway, he said, what time's the game? and i said, we play 1:00 today. he said, you should be out of here by noon and make it home in time to see the game from home. so it was big. it's awesome. it was a great day. it was a great day. >> and today their prayers answered. the coach was back. >> he was undergoing treatment -- >> from the stands, those chants, we want chuck. there were hugs on the field and then the team performed. one of the biggest thrills of the game, the unbelievable run the entire field, by deji karim, the coach and his colts winning. >> it was great to see him back. and to see the colts winning 28-16. there's still much more ahead here on "world news" this sunday night. serenading the president. ♪ amazing grace ♪ how sweet the sound

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as we came on the air last night, we learned of that phone call, the former president george h.w. bush, the oak ridge boys singing into the phone. tonight we learn about the scramble after that request from barbara bush and the two words we heard at the other end of the line when the band finished. here's clayton sandell now. ♪ amazing grace max >> reporter: it was a spirit lifting serenade for the former commander in chief ordered up by former first lady barbara bush. >> she called us and said we should cheer the president up. and if the oak ridge boys could all get together and sing him a song or two. >> reporter: the bush family and the oak ridge boys have been mutual fans for decades. when the call from mrs. bush came in, the boys were on vacation but dropped everything gathering at the office in only 45 minutes. >> it was actually great to hear the president's voice in a cheerful mood. >> reporter: mr. bush, 88-years-old, is in this houston hospital fighting complications of bronchitis. an expected three-day stay now stretching more than a month. but when the band called his room on friday, number 41 had a request. >> he said he was ready to hear some of elvira.

♪ elvira that would make him feel good. >> reporter: then the boys picked one of their favorites. >> you'll remember this one. ♪ amazing grace ♪ how sweet the sound that saved a retch like me ♪ ♪ i once was lost ♪ but now i'm found was blind but now i see ♪ >> there you go. >> the day after that mini concert, mr. bush was moved out of the intensive care unit here. but still no word on when he may be allowed to go home. >> clayton, so many in the

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let it get away. from out of the blue, a bigger great white emerges from the water eating the smaller shark. in the end the fisherman's only catch was this image right here. everyone on the boat, just fine, tonight. to the video from mars where the rover is gearing up for its own resolution, setting off to climb its first martian mountain. it's a three-mile hike up. in the meantime, he's been zapping rocks, scooping up dirt and snapping portraits, turning the lens back on itself. this is what it sees. our number tonight, 17 million, that's how many pieces of confetti are ready to be dropped over times square when the ball drops tomorrow night. all that colored confetti is made by hand. if you're there tomorrow night, look closely, you may find a written wish from one of the many visitors. tourists were allowed to make a wish and write it on the confetti. bags of it have already been tested, dropped eight stories down. the instant index here on a sunday night. if something catches your eye, you can tweet me @davidmuir on twitter. when we come back, your

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finally tonight here, 24 hours from now, we'll all be counting down to the new year with our loved ones. tonight here are the resolutions and hopes for the new year already coming in from so many of you with your three words. ♪ >> a better 2013. ♪ [ laughter ] >> happy new year! ♪ >> get into college! >> continue to learn! ♪ >> health and happiness! >> spread more peace! >> keep snow coming! ♪ >> win the super bowl! >> increase the art.

>> live better life. ♪ >> hopes and dreams for 2013. as one viewer just tweeted me, onward and upward in the new year. that's the broadcast for tonight. "good morning america" first thing in the morning and i hope to see you right back here tomorrow night. goodnight.

>> the latest on breaking news out of the east bay. a car crashes into a funeral home during a service. >> a tremendous loss for family in san jose after a fire takes the lives of three relatives. >> also at 6:00, the new year brings new hope for struggling home owners in california. a law designed to keep people in their homes and avoid foreclosure. abc-7 at 6:00 starts right now. >> ama: we begin with developing news. several people are injured when a car careens into a funeral home chap until the middle of a service. thank you for joining us. it happened this afternoon at the funeral chapel on clayton road in concord. lillian?

reporter: the front of of the funeral chapel is badly damaged. it's now boarded up. concord police say teenagers are to blame for this, teen yaleers who were racing. it happened this afternoon. a 16 or 17-year-old driver was rating another car. he then lost control and slammed into the concord funeral chapel. and he his teenage passenger were said to be, quote, banged up pretty good and they are in the hospital, listed in serious bit stable condition. an elderly man was taken to the hospital, he was in the lobby and received minor scrapes for flying debris. the funeral director is grateful no one was seriously injured, although it could have been worse had it happened moments before. >> we were literally five feet from where the car came in. >> when you have new